Environmental Affairs and Tourism following the conclusion of the major
economies meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change, Washington DC
28 September 2007
The United States of America needs to go back to the drawing board
South Africa welcomes the dialogue amongst major economies initiated by the
United States as one contribution to the international negotiations under the
United Nations. We participated in the dialogue with an open mind and with
great expectations about a new resolve by the United States to seriously
contribute to the multilateral solution under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol.
However, in reflecting on the United States contribution to the meeting, as
well as the outcomes of two days of frank deliberations, we believe that the
United States has not fully embraced the principles of and their leadership in
a multilateral and global solution to the global challenge of climate change.
Though we welcome some of the encouraging political signals from the United
States and their willingness to engage on a global response, our insistence
remains that this response must include internationally agreed and binding
emissions reduction targets. A voluntary approach focusing only on aspirational
(read: non-binding) goals, national actions and long term research and
development in key sectors will not be sufficient to avoid climate
disaster.
Our message to the United States is this: what they placed on the table at
this meeting is a first step, but is simply not enough. We think that the US
needs to go back to the drawing board to formulate credible and ambitious
proposals that we can take back to the multilateral negotiations under the
UNFCCC and it Kyoto Protocol. We are always ready to contribute to these
further developed proposals in a co-operative and constructive manner, but we
reiterate that the outcomes of our interaction in this dialogue should
contribute to the wider agenda, which includes the critical priority of
adapting to climate change, as well as broader engagement under the UNFCCC.
South Africa looks forward to continuing the engagement between major
economies under this dialogue. It holds the potential to enrich the
multilateral process. In our future participation in this dialogue we will
continue to focus both on the creation of a more empowering technology and
financing framework, as well as ways to build a more inclusive and equitable
climate regime. We will not compromise on our demand that the United States, as
the world's largest historical emitter, should contribute their fair share. For
our part, we stand ready to take on our fair share of responsibility.
Enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
28 September 2007
